Allegiant Airlines Allways Rewards: The Ultimate Guide
Allegiant Airlines is a low cost carrier based out of Summerlin (a suburb of Las Vegas), Nevada. Known for its ultra low pricing and simple business model, the airline achieves exactly what it set out to do––get passengers from origin to destination, nothing more and nothing less.
And while the airline doesn’t offer much in the way of, well, anything, it can be a great option for those looking for cheap airline tickets that happen to live on Allegiant’s route map.
Here is everything you need to know about Allegiant Air and it’s frequent flyer program, Allways Rewards.
History
In 1997, three business people came together and began an airline known as WestJet Express. Just a year later, the name was changed to Allegiant Airlines due to a trademark dispute. Initially, Allegiant Air flew a route from Las Vegas, Nevada to Fresno, California but within a few months it began flying to more destinations in the area.
Today, Allegiant operates flights to over 120 destinations throughout the U.S.
Unlike the traditional wheel and spoke model most airlines use, Allegiant flies via a focus city model with a focus on leisure destinations.
The following cities are Allegiant’s operating bases:
- Allentown, PA (ABE)
- Appleton, WI (ATW)
- Asheville, NC (AVL)
- Austin, TX (AUS)
- Bellingham, WA (BLI)
- Cincinnati, OH (CVG)
- Des Moines, IA (DSM)
- Flint, MI (FNT)
- Fort Walton Beach, FL (VPS)
- Fort Lauderdale, FL (FLL)
- Grand Rapids, MI (GRR)
- Indianapolis, IN (IND)
- Knoxville, TN (TYS)
- Las Vegas, NV (LAS)
- Los Angeles, CA (LAX)
- Nashville, TN (BNA)
- Orlando/Sanford, FL (MCO)
- Phoenix/Mesa,AZ (PHX)
- Pittsburgh, PA (PIT)
- Punta Gorda, FL (PGD)
- Savannah, GA (SAV)
- St. Petersburg, FL (PIE)
How to Earn Allegiant Allways Rewards Points
The frequent flier program of Allegiant Air is known as Allways Rewards and the currency awarded is called Allways Rewards points.
Earning Allways Rewards points with Allegiant Air is about as straightforward of a process as it gets. This is great for those looking for an easy to understand, no frills loyalty program. But where the program excels in simplicity, it takes a hit in value.
This doesn’t mean this loyalty program isn’t worth using, though.
Flying Allegiant Air
The easiest way to earn miles with Allegiant is through flying. When you fly with Allegiant Air, you will earn Allways Rewards Points based on the cost of your ticket at the following rates:
- Under $500: Earn 1 Allways Rewards point per dollar spent.
- Over $500: Earn 2 Allways Rewards points per dollar spent.
These rates are calculated per reservation, so if you book four tickets for your family, for example, if the cost is $150 each, since the grand total is over $500, you will earn 2 Allways Rewards points per dollar instead of one. This method is an interesting quirk unique to Allegiant, effectively acting as a family pooling system.
Status Miles
Allegiant Air has no elite status, therefore, you cannot receive any mileage bonuses due to status.
Earning Status
There are no options to earn status with Allegiant Air.
The closest thing to elite status is holding the Allegiant World Mastercard®*. Having this card gives you priority boarding, a benefit that most airlines offer to elite status holders. Additionally, cardholders can enjoy one free beverage during their flight.
Flights On Partners
Allegiant Air does not have any partner airlines.
Transfer Partners
No transfer partners exist for Allegiant Allways Rewards points. They must be earned through flying or through credit card spending.
Credit Cards
Bank of America offers the only co-branded Allegiant Air credit card. The card is a pretty standard airline credit card with a few unique benefits that can make flying such a basic carrier like Allegiant more pleasant.
Allegiant World Mastercard:
- Welcome bonus:
- Annual fee: $59
- Rewards:
One perk offered to cardmembers is a one time annual free companion airfare on selected airline vacation packages. In order to earn this perk, you must meet the following criteria:
- A flight package consisting of a flight plus either a four night hotel stay or a seven day car rental.
- The full itinerary must be purchased with the Allegiant World Mastercard.
- The cardholder must be a passenger on the itinerary.
- The free airfare itinerary must match the itinerary of the cardholder.
- Itineraries for the cardholder and companion tickets must be booked, purchased and ticketed at the same time.
- Everything must be done through Allways Card Member Services.
Hotel Transfer Partners
There are no hotel partners which allow you to earn or convert points into Allegiant Allways Rewards points.
Car Rentals
Allegiant doesn’t offer the ability to earn Allways Rewards points with partner car rental agencies and you can’t convert points from rental companies to Allways Rewards, but it does offer special rental rates. All you need to do is have your Allegiant Air ticket on hand when booking. You can receive discounts with the following agencies:
- Alamo
- Enterprise
- National Car Rental
Shopping Portals
Allegiant Air does not offer the ability to earn miles through a shopping portal.
Buying Miles
You cannot purchase Allegiant Allways Rewards points.
How to Redeem Allways Rewards Points
Allegiant Allways Rewards points are a fixed value currency. A single Allways Rewards point is equivalent to $0.01. You can redeem your Allways Rewards points for flights and flight packages that include hotels, rental cars and destination tickets. Additionally, you can redeem our Allways Rewards points to cover ancillary fees from Allegiant.
On Allegiant Flights
When using your Allways Rewards points for flights, you will always get $.01 per point on your redemptions. This means that a flight which costs $500 would need 50,000 Allegiant Allways Rewards points for an award flight.
To redeem your points, first make sure you are logged into your account. Then search for your flight. Once you confirm that the information is correct, continue to checkout. At the payment page, you will be given the option to pay with your Allegiant Allways Rewards points. You can redeem as few or as many Allways Rewards points as you would like. This is again a unique feature making their frequent flyer program more like a cash-back credit card program than anything you might think of as a traditional miles program.
On Flights with Partners
Since Allegiant Air has no partner airlines, you cannot redeem your Allways Rewards points on carriers other than Allegiant Air itself.
Fees
Low cost carriers like Allegiant rely on ancillary fees to subsidize their operations and keep ticket prices low. As a general rule of thumb, you can expect to pay fees for pretty much all features. Here is what Allegiant Air charges customers for services. Note that because of Covid-19 Allegiant has reduced all cancellation and change fees to $25.00 per segment, but that could revert to the normal fee structure at any time.
- Flight Cancellation: Trips canceled within 24 hours of booking will receive a full refund. For trips more than 7 days out, a fee of $75.00 will be incurred and the funds from the original booking will be converted into an Allegiant flight voucher. For flights canceled within 7 days from departure, no credit will be issued.
- Flight Changes: Flights cannot be changed within 7 days from departure. Changes to flights leaving more than 7 days will incur a $25.00 fee per flight segment.
- Baggage: One free personal item like a small purse or laptop or briefcase, up to $75.00 for a carry-on bag and up to $50.00 for checked bags. These fees are determined by route. You can use Allegiant’s calculator to find out exactly how much checking a bag will cost. Additionally, by prepaying for a bag online, you can receive a discount of up to 50 percent. Bags will cost up to $35.00 when prepaid.
- Seat Selection: $0.00 to $80.00 depending on the seat. Seats with more leg room and preferred areas will generally cost more. You do not have to select a seat and therefore, will not be charged anything. If you do choose to forgo seat selection, one will be assigned to you at check-in. If you do not reserve a seat there is no guarantee that your family will be able to sit together.
- Priority Boarding: $4.00 to $12.00 depending on the route.
- Booking Through Call Center: $14.99 per segment. Avoid extra fees by booking online, which is free, as opposed to calling in.
- Trip Flex: $29.00 to $43.00. Allegiant gives you the option to purchase Trip Flex, which is a feature that allows you to change or cancel your flights with no additional fees.
Sweet Spots
In the traditional sense of a sweet spot, Allegiant doesn’t really have any as the points you earn and redeem are worth a fixed value of $0.01 each. In the convenience aspect, though, being able to fly to and from some of the airports served exclusively by Allegiant can not only save you time, but money, as well.
Provo, Utah (PVU) for example, has a small regional airport. The only commercial carrier flying out of this airport is Allegiant. From Provo, you can fly to other underserved yet popular destinations, like Mesa, Arizona (AZA).
Avoiding Allegiant, one would have to fly out of Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC) airport and fly into Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX), both of which are large and busy. By flying into these smaller airports, you can potentially save a lot of time.
Quirks
- Allegiant Allway Rewards points do not expire as long as you have some qualifying activity within 24 months. Qualifying activity includes taking flights with Allegiant and using your Allegiant co-branded credit card.
- Allegiant flies into Sanford (SFB), not Orlando (MCO) even though their tickets say “Orlando”. Sanford is over 40 miles away from Disney World and other attractions people are most likely to visit when they come to Orlando. Make sure you plan accordingly.
- Ultra-low-cost airlines like Allegiant run lean operations, which means there is less give if something goes wrong. Some flights may only operate once daily, which means that if a flight is canceled your only option might be to wait until the next day. As we have seen over the past two years, even mainline airlines have problems getting all planes out 100 percent of the time, but with Allegiant there is little recourse besides getting a refund and booking on another airline or waiting it out.
Military Discount
Active duty, reserve and veteran United States service members can enjoy several benefits from Allegiant. Known as Allegiant Honors, members with proper identification get:
- Up to two pieces of checked baggage
- No charge for oversize checked baggage
- One carry-on bag within Allegiant size limits
- One personal item within Allegiant size limits
- Free boarding pass printing at the airport
- Up to one pet in the cabin
- Qualifying service members will be called to board early
- No change or cancellation fees due to a change in orders
Spouses and dependents carrying valid military dependent identification stating their dependent or marital status will receive for the same benefits, but only when traveling on the same itinerary as the eligible military traveler.
Infant Fees
Allegiant Air allows children 24 months and younger to ride for free as a lap infant. Make sure to bring your child’s birth certificate as Allegiant requires proof of age at check in. Children two years old and up are required to purchase a seat as a full fare adult ticket.
Family Pooling
There are no options to pool miles with Allegiant, however, Allegiant will let one person earn the entirety of Allways Miles when booking a reservation that consists of multiple tickets.
If a parent books a flight for their three children, all Allways Miles earned will go into the parent’s Allegiant account. Additionally, the deposited Allways Rewards points can be used at once as they are all pooled into one account.
Other Ways to Earn Allways Rewards Points
Allegiant only offers two ways to earn Allways Rewards Points––through purchasing tickets and flying and spending on its co-branded credit card.
Bottom Line
Allegiant Air is a bare bones airline carrier whose primary purpose is to get passengers from point a to point b for as cheaply as possible.
It’s not for everyone, but for those who don’t mind flying with a budget carrier and who are strictly looking for transportation rather than an experience, Allegiant can be a great option. Flight tickets are normally priced very competitively and if you plan ahead and travel light, you can save a lot of money with this carrier. Just make sure to properly manage your expectations.
